Pop Culture Item References: Comics, Books, Music, and Poetry

Earlier this week, we took a look at pop-culture references in WoW items--movies, TV, and video games. Today we've got the remaining items covered--books, music, comics, and poetry! You'd be surprised how many poetry references there are, as nearly all Justice and Valor Point gear from Cataclysm's launch is a reference to poetry by Keats or Eliot.

There are many more references outside the scope of these item guides, such as NPCs, achievements, and quests. There's even a subset of items named after WoW players, like Perculia's Peculiar Signet and Hamlet's Wind-Whipped Leggings. If you like these types of guides, we'll consider doing more.

Click the cut to read more pop culture references!

British Poetry

At Cataclysm's launch, many starter items were references to British poetry--illvl 346 Justice Point gear, Cataclysm reputation rewards, and ilvl 359 Valor Point gear. Keats' poems were heavily featured, and T.S. Eliot, Shakespeare, Tennyson, and Wordsworth had items as well.

British poetry and WoW may seem to be an unlikely pairing, but back at Mists of Pandaria's press event, I had lunch with the dev who named all these items and appreciated the references being discovered.

We've copied the relevant sections of the poems below--mouseover the links to see the tribute item and click between the tabs to see all of the poems.

"To Autumn," John KeatsSEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shellsWith a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may findThee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep, Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook Spares the next swath and all its twined flowersAnd sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep Steady thy laden head across a brook; Or by a cyder-press, with patient look, Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—While barred cloudsbloom the soft-dying day, And touch the stubble plains with rosy hue;Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn Among the river sallows, borne aloft Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn; Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft; And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

"Bright Star," John KeatsBright star, would I were stedfast as thou art—Not in lone splendour hung aloft the nightAnd watching, with eternal lids apart,Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite,The moving waters at their priestlike taskOf pure ablution round earth’s human shores,Or gazing on the new soft-fallen maskOf snow upon the mountains and the moors—No—yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast,To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,And so live ever—or else swoon to death.

"The Waste Land," T. S. EliotLine 19:What are the roots that clutch, what branches growOut of this stony rubbish? Son of man,You cannot say, or guess, for you know onlyA heap of broken images, where the sun beats,And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,And the dry stone no sound of water. OnlyThere is shadow under this red rock,(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),

Line 90: That freshened from the window, these ascendedIn fattening the prolonged candle-flames,Flung their smoke into the laquearia,Stirring the pattern on the coffered ceiling.

Line 100: So rudely forced; yet there the nightingaleFilled all the desert with inviolable voiceAnd still she cried, and still the world pursues,“Jug Jug” to dirty ears.And other witheredstumps of timeWere told upon the walls;

Line 173: The river's tent is broken: the last fingers of leaf Clutch and sink into the wet bank. The wind Crosses the brown land, unheard.

Line 343:There is not even solitude in the mountainsBut red sullen faces sneer and snarlFrom doors of mud-cracked houses

Line 366:What is that sound high in the airMurmur of maternal lamentationWho are those hooded hordes swarmingOver endless plains, stumbling in cracked earthRinged by the flat horizon only

Line 385:In this decayed hole among the mountainsIn the faint moonlight, the grass is singingOver the tumbled graves, about the chapelThere is the empty chapel, only the wind’s home.It has no windows, and the door swings,Dry bones can harm no one.Only a cock stood on the roof-treeCo co rico co co ricoIn a flash of lightning.

Line 413:We think of the key, each in his prisonThinking of the key, each confirms a prisonOnly at nightfall, aetherial rumours Revive for a moment a broken Coriolanus

The waves beside them danced, but they Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee:A Poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company:I gazed—and gazed—but little thoughtWhat wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood,They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils.

"The Lady of Shallot," Tennyson

Four grey walls, and four grey towers,Overlook a space of flowers,And the silent isle imbowers The Lady of Shalott.

There she weaves by night and dayA magic web with colours gay.She has heard a whisper say, A curse is on her if she stay.

"Sonnet 73," Shakespeare

In me thou see'st the glowing of such fireThat on the ashes of his youth doth lie,As the death-bed whereon it must expireConsumed with that which it was nourish'd by.

"Ode to Psyche," Keats

Yes, I will be thy priest, and build a fane In some untrodden region of my mind,Where branchèd thoughts, new grown with pleasant pain, Instead of pines shall murmur in the wind:

"Ode on Melancholy," Keats

Though seen of none save him whose strenuous tongueCan burst Joy's grape against his palate fine; His soul shall taste the anguish of her might, And be among her cloudy trophies hung.

"By the Aurelian Wall: In Memory of John Keats," Bliss Carman

By the Aurelian Wall,Where the long shadows of the centuries fallFrom Caius Cestius' tombA weary mortal seeking rest found roomFor quiet burial,

Comics

Foxtrot

Oglaf

Skull Drinking Cup: This poorly-designed cup doesn't retain liquid, as according to the archaeology notes, the liquid drips out of the eye sockets. This is a reference to one of Oglaf's comics. (Note: the comic is safe for work, but many others are not.)

Superman

Zod's Repeating Longbow: Named after a prominent villian in Superman. The famous line "Come to me, son of Jor-El! Kneel before Zod!" is referenced in the flavor text as well.

Literature

Alice in Wonderland

Savory Deviate Delight: The Use effect states "Eat me," which is what Alice's cake says that causes her to grow.

Noggenfogger Elixir: The Use effect states "Drink me," which is what Alice's bottle says that causes her to shrink. Noggenfogger also can cause the user to greatly shrink (Noggenfogger Elixir). Pygmy Oil also has similar text and an effect.

Don Quixote

Dune

Jom Gabbar: Tribute to the deadly Gom Jabbar, a poison needle. The box icon refers to the box the "humanity test" is conducted in--if you pull your hand out of the painful box, you are stung with the gom jabbar. The buff icon looks like a needle too: Jom Gabbar.

Emperor's New Clothes

The Emperor's New Cape: This cape has an invisible model, referencing the Hans Christian Andersen tale. In this fairy tale, two tailors convince the emperor that they have expensive cloth that only the wisest people can see. The Emperor is afraid to admit that he sees nothing, and "dresses" himself in nothing for a parade.

Fight Club

Fight Club: This rare item has such a low droprate from Scarlet Monastery, it's like they don't want you to talk about it.

Isaac Asimov

A Song of Ice and Fire

Syrio's Gloves of Tutelage: A nod to Arya's dancing master, Syrio Forel. The gloves are itemized for agility, as fits his nimble fighting style, and the flavor text references his famous line, "What do we say to death?"

Axe of the Iron Price: References the Greyjoy philosophy that one should pay the "iron price" and loot riches by killing foes, instead of acquiring riches through spending gold. The irony is that this is a great twink weapon with ilvl 417 available to level 81 players--so it's highly sought-after on the AH.

Mistborn

Survivor's Bag of Coins: Tribute to the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. References Allomancy, which allows characters to push on metal in order to propel themselves great distances over articles. An important character with this ability was the Survivor of Hathsin. In WoW, this item has a really neat way to obtain it which pays tribute to the series as well, including Reislek's Ghost.

Mythology

Golden Fleece: In Jason and the Argonauts, the Golden Fleece was a treasure Jason sought to find in order to rightfully claim the throne of Iolcus. In game, the fleece makes you shimmer and can spawn additional gold when a mob dies.

Grasscutter: Named after a legendary broadsword which had the power to control the wind. Legend has it that when trapped in a burning field of grass, Yamato Takeru was able to turn the flames back on his enemies as he was cutting down the grass. This is also considered one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan, which is referenced in the flavor text.

Romeo and Juliet

Romulo's Poison Vial: When Romeo thought Juliet had died, he ended his life by drinking a vial of poison.

Blade of the Unrequited: When Juliet woke up after faking her death and saw Romeo had killed himself, she stabbed herself with his dagger. This could also reference Paris, whose love for Juliet was not returned.

Rowan of Rin

Silence of the Lambs

When you grab the Ogre Tannin, an ogre screams "Noo! It puts the tannin in the basket, or else it gets the mallet again" which is a reference to the serial killer "Buffalo Bill" lowering a bucket down the well to his victims and saying "It rubs the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again."

Tolkien

Stung: When Bilbo is killing spiders with his sword, he names it Sting.

Mrgl Blade:Tribute to Morgul Blade, wielded by the Witch-King of Angmar.

Music

Carl Perkins/Elvis

Blue Suede Shoes is a nod to the rockabilly song Blue Suede Shoes which was written by Carl Perkins and famously covered by Elvis as a tribute when Perikins was in an accident. The flavor text refers to the lyric "lay off of my blue suede shoes."

Prince

Princely Reign Leggings: Princely Reign sounds quite similar to the famous album "Purple Rain" and the flavor text is taken from the lyric "Let me guide you, through the Purple Rain." Princely Reign is also a clever phrase referencing Prince's successuful career.

Josh Eustis

Giorgio's Caduceus of Pure Moods: Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv, who also performed on NiN's recent tour, came to CM Zarhym's attention when a picture was posted of him beating Infernal Diablo on tour. Also a heroic raider, Josh was honored with a weapon that pays tribute to his and his girlfriend's character names as well as the vineyard Caduceus Cellars, owned by musician Maynard James Keenan who performed in Puscifer along with Eustis.

Comment by squirtbro

Comment by stym

on 2013-12-30T13:02:56-06:00

This is a really good list!That being said, it's going to be hard to come up with an exhaustive one. I wonder if this should be a community effort. For example, you could ask users to add a comment to an item, quest or NPC that is a cultural reference, and add a special tag, say "!popref" in their post, and have the programmers allow you to search for every comment with that tag. That could be a good way of getting as exhaustive a list as possible.

Comment by cazmack

on 2013-12-30T15:31:33-06:00

Hey under music you should add each races dance. They're each a reference to music/artist right? at least a few of them. ex. Goblin Female does Beyonce single Ladies dance.

Comment by Vonblah

on 2013-12-30T16:26:56-06:00

Hey Perculia, nice job! Big fan here.

Some typos that went to live: "The Anarcist's Cookbook", "Hands Christian Andersen", "Tolkein"

Thanks for the wonderful article :)

Comment by regma

on 2013-12-30T16:51:02-06:00

And now those items names makes sense. Maybe one day I could have a name on something. lol

Comment by Berndorf

Comment by Roguesaxaphone

on 2013-12-30T17:31:09-06:00

Bronjahms and his drops is a reference to James Brown and his music like the bag he drops.the leather shoes, Moonwalkers reference to Michael JacksonThe fist weapons Pride and Greed 2/7 sins, originally it was a letter of categorizing all sins I think, but I'm pretty sure there's a book, poem or song about the 7 deadly sins.There are two items, an epic ring I think and some grey item about Empress Zoe.

Comment by Tesslin

on 2013-12-30T17:40:37-06:00

Don't forget Pygmy oil for the Alice in Wonderland part, it makes you a tiny bit smaller but the effect stacks. Until you drink too much. Then you turn into a pygmy.

Comment by jacobwx77

on 2013-12-30T17:48:36-06:00

a Game of Thrones is the name of the TV adaptation of GRRM's book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" and since it's under litterature it should be named accordingly imo.

Comment by rehlyihmah

on 2013-12-30T18:01:26-06:00

Well, it breaks my heart that you had Lovecraft in this list but left out the Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron. There's a list of the things it says in the comments - a whole lot of them referencing his work.

Example from "The Call of Cthulhu":That is not dead which can eternal lie.And with strange aeons even death may die.-> Even death may die In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.-> In the sunken city, he lays dreaming.... Quite a few of the quotes refer to Cthulhu, I think.

Comment by ironhitman

Comment by Turnak

I never knew they had something referencing to Jonathan Coulton! Keep these things going guys! :D

Comment by copperboom

on 2013-12-31T00:11:17-06:00

You forgot Adele... rolling in the deep (of Dreads Waste)

Comment by Keelerak

on 2013-12-31T03:03:18-06:00

I think that in the poems you found many references that aren't there. Like, Mask of Vines and Cloak of the Dryads? Can't they be just named after vines and dryads?

Comment by shao

on 2013-12-31T03:14:15-06:00

no mention of the human /silly that basically re-tells the story of Lord of the Rings. "oh look, the king is back!"

Comment by Rale

on 2013-12-31T07:05:49-06:00

Unusual Compass could be a reference to the Broken Compass in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Comment by bezal

on 2013-12-31T09:32:43-06:00

Not sure if this was suggested, but you should totally consider a post that covers items that are tributes to people who've made a difference to the WoW community. I can think of many people/theorycrafters - one in particular comes to mind, but I know there are many others - Toskk's Maximized Wristguards